Catherine Atkinson

The department wants to ensure that all young people receive the education that is right for them. For over a decade now, colleges have been able to apply to directly enrol 14 to 16-year-olds in full time programmes, to enable students who wish it to undertake technical courses as part of a broad and balanced curriculum that includes English, mathematics and science.

To ensure provision is suitable and high quality, a number of criteria are in place. Colleges enrolling 14 to 16-year-olds must have either an Ofsted ‘outstanding’, grade 1, or ‘good’, grade 2, overall effectiveness judgement, have a dedicated space for these young people, and dedicated leadership for them.

The department is clear, in the guidance regarding full-time enrolment of 14 to 16-year-olds in further education (FE) and sixth-form colleges, that colleges should work collaboratively with the appropriate local authorities in order to share information about attendance or absences. Attendance will also form part of Ofsted’s judgement. This guidance can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/full-time-enrolment-of-14-to-16-year-olds-in-further-education-and-sixth-form-colleges/full-time-enrolment-of-14-to-16-year-olds-in-further-education-and-sixth-form-colleges-2023-to-2024-academic-year.

14 to 16-year-olds can also attend FE colleges to access alternative provision to give them access to alternative pathways or to help them re-engage in learning. Placements are usually part-time and short-term, with the child being dual-registered at their home school and the FE college. Alternative provision at FE colleges is reviewed as part of an inspection of the home school at which they are registered.

The department has offered all Early Years Stronger Practice Hubs further funding until 31 March 2025 so they can continue providing early years educators with support to improve practice, supporting our mission to break down barriers to opportunity by giving children the best start in life.

The Stronger Practice Hubs Programme launched in 2022 to address the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the youngest children, with a focus on the most disadvantaged areas. The Hubs support early years settings and childminders by sharing effective practice, learning from the best available evidence, and building lasting local networks.

The department is committed to ensuring that every child in an early years setting receives high quality education and care. Evidence shows that this has a positive impact on outcomes in both the short and long term, particularly for the most disadvantaged children.

The Department is progressing plans to designate nine new National River Walks across England, one in each region, to enhance access to nature. This is a priority for us, and we are currently considering several delivery options, as well as reviewing where existing river walks are in place. Further details will be provided in due course.

The Department for Transport will legislate to address the important issues raised in Baroness Casey’s report, tackling the inconsistent standards of taxi and private hire vehicle driver licensing. We will work as quickly as possible and consider all options – including out of area working, national standards and enforcement – seeking the best overall outcomes for passenger safety.

In the interim we will act urgently to make improvements, including consulting on making local transport authorities, including combined authorities, responsible for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing, and determining how existing statutory guidance can be strengthened to further protect the public. We are also reviewing authorities’ compliance with existing guidance and will hold those who do not follow it to account.

Some important protections have already been put in place since earlier inquiries into Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation. All licensing authorities in England now undertake extensive driver background checks, and since 2023

they are required to use a single database to prevent a driver refused a licence in one area on safety grounds going elsewhere. Careful consideration of the options is needed as we do not want any change to decrease the availability of highly vetted licensed drivers and vehicles and inadvertently increase the use of those offering illegal services that evade these licensing checks.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here: Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill publications - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament.

We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including ensuring health and care needs are met. We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment to make it fair and fit for purpose, which I am leading. We are bringing together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this. We will provide further details as plans progress

We will be making changes so no one currently on PIP will lose PIP as a result of the four-point change. The four point eligibility requirement will be implemented from November 2026 for new claims only, subject to Parliamentary approval.

Good work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems. Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care.

We are delivering the biggest investment in employment support for disabled people and people with health conditions in at least a generation. We announced in the recent Pathways to Work Green Paper that we would establish a new guarantee of support for all disabled people and people with health conditions claiming out of work benefits who want help to get into or return to work. As announced in the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions’ statement on Welfare Reform on 30 June we are investing an additional £300m over the next 3 years. This means ‘Pathways to Work Guarantee’ is now an investment of£2.2 billion by 2030. This brings our total investment in employment support for disabled people and those with health conditions to £3.8 billion over this Parliament.

Backed by £240m investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched in November 2024, will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate. In recognition of the key role employers play a key role in increasing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, the Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions and Business and Trade asked Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead an independent review, considering how best to support and enable employers to recruit and retain more people with health conditions and disabilities, promote healthy workplaces, and support more people to stay in or return to work from periods of sickness absence. Sir Charlie will deliver his final report in the autumn. Employers are crucial in enhancing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and those with health conditions to thrive in the workforce. Our support to employers includes increasing access to Occupational Health, a digital information service for employers and the Disability Confident scheme.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here: Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill publications - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament. A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper is being developed and undertaken in the coming months.

The number of people currently on PIP who did not score 4 points in one category in their last assessment should not be equated with the number who are likely to not to be awarded the daily living component of PIP in future. Our intention is that changes will start to come into effect from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. After that date, people already in receipt of PIP will continue to be treated under the current rules, with only new claimants having the new criterion applied. As a result of behavioural responses to the change, we expect that a higher proportion of new claimants will score 4 points against at least one activity than happens currently.

We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including ensuring health and care needs are met. We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment to make it fair and fit for purpose, which I am leading. We are bringing together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this. We will provide further details as plans progress

We will be making changes so no one currently on PIP will lose PIP as a result of the four-point change. The four point eligibility requirement will be implemented from November 2026 for new claims only, subject to Parliamentary approval.

This government values the input of disabled people and people with health conditions, in addition to representative organisations that support them. That is why we opened a public consultation that ran until 30 June 2025, for a full 12 weeks after a full suite of accessible versions were published on 7 April.

The consultation welcomed all views, especially those of disabled people, as well as carers, who provide essential support for people with long-term health conditions and disabilities. We held a programme of in-person and virtual consultation events across the country, to hear from people directly.

We continue to facilitate other ways to meaningfully involve disabled people and their perspectives in our reforms, including through collaboration committees, the PIP assessment review and the Disability Advisory Panel.

We are setting up Collaboration Committees announced in the Green Paper, which will help to further develop our welfare reforms. These will involve bringing together groups of disabled people and other experts for specific work areas to collaborate and provide discussion, challenge, and recommendations.

Throughout the PIP assessment review, we are working closely with disabled people and organisations that support them to ensure that the voices of those who go through the PIP assessment, and those with expertise in the system are embedded in the review.

The Disability Advisory Panel, which we announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper, will be a strategic advisory panel consisting of disabled people and individuals with long-term health conditions.

I also continue to regularly meet with stakeholders, including disabled people and their representatives, to discuss our reforms and listen to their views.

This government values the input of disabled people and people with health conditions, in addition to representative organisations that support them. That is why we opened a public consultation that ran until 30 June 2025, for a full 12 weeks after a full suite of accessible versions were published on 7 April.

The consultation welcomed all views, especially those of disabled people, as well as carers, who provide essential support for people with long-term health conditions and disabilities. We held a programme of in-person and virtual consultation events across the country, to hear from people directly.

We continue to facilitate other ways to meaningfully involve disabled people and their perspectives in our reforms, including through collaboration committees, the PIP assessment review and the Disability Advisory Panel.

We are setting up Collaboration Committees announced in the Green Paper, which will help to further develop our welfare reforms. These will involve bringing together groups of disabled people and other experts for specific work areas to collaborate and provide discussion, challenge, and recommendations.

Throughout the PIP assessment review, we are working closely with disabled people and organisations that support them to ensure that the voices of those who go through the PIP assessment, and those with expertise in the system are embedded in the review.

The Disability Advisory Panel, which we announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper, will be a strategic advisory panel consisting of disabled people and individuals with long-term health conditions.

I also continue to regularly meet with stakeholders, including disabled people and their representatives, to discuss our reforms and listen to their views.